Khalid tweeted out his support for Beto O'Rourke on the eve of the final day of early voting in Texas. The El Paso R&B singer was captured during a performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Oct. 12, 2018, in Austin. Charles Reagan Hackleman/ACL

AUSTIN — Fresh off his victory at the American Music Awards this week, El Paso's Khalid took the stage Friday at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and gave an energetic performance that included a promise of new music and a lot of El Paso talk.

The R&B singer opened his set with the upbeat "8TEEN" and cycled through other songs from his debut studio album, including "Young Dumb & Broke," "Winter" and his hit single, "Location."

2. Khalid really, REALLY loves El Paso

It's no surprise that the singer loves El Paso, but he mentioned the border city frequently during Friday's set. It also appeared in a video feed playing on a large monitor behind the band, which featured an image resembling a "City of El Paso" sign and footage showing a desert area.

The predominately Texan crowd responded enthusiastically to each reference.

"It feels good to be back in Texas," Khalid said early in his set, to cheers. "Shoutout to El Paso, Texas."

Did we mention that his new music will be released on an EP named after El Paso?

3. Fans played a key role in the show

The way Khalid's Friday performance went, it would be easy to assume that every song the artist has produced has been a major hit.

The audience — which was made up mostly of younger people, especially in comparison to the crowd at other ACL shows like David Byrne of the Talking Heads — sang along and danced to each song with unbridled enthusiasm.

Khalid leaned into it, staying quiet during large portions of each song and letting the audience fill in the gaps.

El Paso R&B singer Khalid performs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival during its second weekend Oct. 12, 2018, in Austin.(Photo11: Charles Reagan Hackleman/ACL)

4. Beto O'Rourke didn't get a mention

Khalid's acceptance speech for his Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist award at the American Music Awards included a reference to El Paso's most famous politician, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, but he didn't mention O'Rourke on Friday.

Both Khalid and O'Rourke have discussed their mutual respect and admiration on Twitter and Khalid openly supports the Democrat's bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. But Friday's event was devoid of politics.

On Tuesday, Khalid highlighted O'Rourke in his speech.

“Before I go: Shoutout to the 915, shoutout to El Paso, Texas, shoutout Beto," he said. "I love you guys.”

El Paso R&B singer Khalid performs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival during its second weekend Oct. 12, 2018, in Austin.(Photo11: Charles Reagan Hackleman/ACL)

5. His dancers help the performance

Khalid performed Friday at various positions on stage, at some points interacting with his four female backup dancers and at others crouching at the front of the stage.

During slower songs like "Coaster" he sat on a black stool positioned on stage and sang from there.

Khalid did limited dancing himself — he spends a lot of time leaping across the stage without actually dancing — but the women performing as he sang put on a vibrant performance and added a much needed visual component to a show that otherwise relied on animations and videos playing on the screen behind the band.

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

The crowd at R&B superstar and hometown hero Khalid's show watches the opening act the Swell Kids, who are an El Paso duo tapped by Khalid to perform at both of his sold-out shows at the Don Haskins Center. Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

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El Paso’s Khalid dazzled a standing room only crowd with his lyrics, moves and stage show Saturday in the Don Haskins Center. The arena echoed with the many voices singing along to his songs. The singer song-writer held two sold out shows in the city he considers home. Rudy Gutierrez